Daughter of Benik [Chapter 2 - part 1]

Aven’s Dome was
originally where King Ephesus’s palace stood, until the Order burned it and
built their place of gathering there. The dome was made of bricks that remained
of the castle, all polished and painted black to give a black lacquered
appearance. Beneath the dome was a maze of passages where the members of the
Order entered and left when they made secret raids upon those on the surface. A
petite figure in black slipped through one of the passages that led to the
gates of the dark underworld. Shyaina, wearing the Order’s hooded cloak, found
a tall space near the hall leading the dungeon; a narrow and uneven wall snaked
up nearly hidden from view. She looked around to see that no one was watching,
carefully began to make its way upwards. Once at the top, she could peer into
the bowels of the Dome where the High Oracle of Beliar made his incantations
without being seen.

Please, Ishual, may it be that I will not be seen, she silently
prayed.

The place was stifling
and dark thanks to black marble and the damp, smoky air. Shyaina brought the
edge of her hood over her mouth to avoid inhaling the irritating fumes of
incense.

Two guards, dressed in
their black armour, entered the great hall. Through the dancing shadows and
smoke, Shyaina could see at the far end towards her right a giant writhing
creature. It was fat and glistening, its skin nearly transparent as its insides
shifted at each movement the strange creature made. Torchlights threw red-gold
accentuating the monstrous figure; its colour was so dark that its skin
appeared to devour the light from the torches. Shyaina shuddered at the hideous
sight as she continued to watch. Then another figure appeared into the scene –
the High Oracle himself. The oracle wore a white cloak that nearly covered him
completely; his sleeves are folded up to reveal the black silk lining inside.

“How may I serve you,
my lord?” asked the oracle as he bowed before the giant worm.

Somewhere from beneath
the bulking shape of fat and flesh, a deep gurgling voice echoed through the
hall. I…ammm…hungry…, it hissed.

“The dungeons are
filled for you.”

Iiiittt…bettttteerrrr…beee…fuuulllll…, the hulking worm slowly
moved from its dais and glided down with a grace that belied its heavy form. It
then melted and shifted into long tentacle-like limbs that released small
scurrying things that slid into crevices and cracks on the floor. Not long
after it absorbed itself into the floor, a high pitched screech tore through
the place. Swiftly, the small black things retreated. It buuurrrnsss! It buuurrrrnnnsss! The monster cried out piling its
bulk back onto the dais like a cowering child.

“What is it, my lord?”
the oracle asked.

The liiiight! The bllaaade! Ittt biiittes! Ittt
freeeeezzzzes!

“Stewards!”

Two young men in white
robes with designs of the black worm and black belts appeared.

“Someone has hid a
stone sword amongst them. Find it and kill its owner.”

The stewards bowed and
left.

Shyaina silently slid
down the brick ladder and made her way to the dungeon. Now she knows where to
find what she was looking for.

* * * * * * * * * *

Place: The Woods of Lemuel, in the
Kingdom of Korda.

Irene, led by Caleah
and Pine, found herself walking for quite a while until she heard a voice
calling close by.

“Pine! Caleah!”

“Papa!” cried Caleah as
she released her hand from Irene and ran towards the voice.

Within a few moments,
there were voices followed by the sound of people. Irene looked up to see a
clean-shaven man who appeared to be in his early thirties. With him were two
other men and two short men, whom Irene thought were dwarves.

“Papa!” cried Pine with
joy.

“Why did you do this to
us?” scolded the man to his son. “We have told you many times not to wander
into the woods alone!”

Tears began to pool in
the little boy’s eyes. “I’m sorry, Papa, but Caleah and I just wanted to pick
flowers for Mama.” The boy began to sob.

The father, unsure of
how to respond to this, gently put his arms around his son and said, “There,
there, I’m sorry for losing my head. We were all worried that you my have been
taken away by the members of the Order.”

“We were about to,
Papa. We were about to be killed for Beliar,” piped up Caleah who was held by
one of the tall men.

“And a huge man with a
big sword was about to kill us until she came along.” Pine sniffed pointing to
Irene.

Everyone looked at
Irene.

“She was very strong.
She had a sword and defeated him,” said Caleah excitedly.

“Could she be Ishual?”
asked Pine.

The father looked at
Irene and held out his hand. “Thank you for saving my children.”

“I – really didn’t do
anything,” Irene replied nervously, shaking his hand. “I just saw them in
danger and wanted to save them.”

But the man took no
heed to the response. “Please, stay at our place. We want to show you our
gratitude for what you have done.”

The men brought her to
log cabin quite a ways away from the woods. The father of the twins introduced
himself as Mito Ben-Duek, the other tall men he introduced as Rayn Kyte and
Sinde Mendd. Mito had soft dirty blond hair that glowed to a golden hue in the
light, a trait Irene assumed Pine and Caleah received from their father. Rayn
also had blond hair, yet appeared to be a much more of a quieter man that Mito.
Sinde appeared to be a black elf, with a dark handsome face and pearly white
teeth. He was the one who entertained the children with many stories of the
old.

Robin Burrows, one of
the short men (whom Irene later found was called a rilud), was an old family
friend. Robin had curly copper hair with streaks of grey, one of the signs of
his age – eighty-three to be exact, over the hill in rilud age. He was the one
who makes funny expressions on his beardless round face, another man who
entertains the children. Irene noticed that Robin had hairy hands and short
stubby horns, the common traits of a rilud.

Glenn Gleenwood, the
other short man, was a dwarf. His black hair was streaked with some grey. Irene
later found out that he was one hundred ninety-one in age. Glenn appeared to be
a grim person at first, yet she later discovered that he was actually a
pleasant person. It was when he was deep in thought that made his dark bushy
brows sink down making him look grave.

Mito’s wife, Treenah,
was a lovely woman with brown hair and laughing blue eyes that the children
also shared. She served them some roasted grouse with spicy herbs and a special
sauce. There were also fresh homemade bread, a garden salad, boiled carrots and
potatoes; berry juice and milk to drink with the meal.

When everyone ate,
Irene introduced herself and learned about her host and his friends. However,
she did not tell them where she came from or how, for she did not feel that it
was the right time to do so. After the wonderful meal came their favourite time
for them all, the time of stories and tales of the old, legends of forgotten
places and great kings who had done great deeds for their peoples, and tales of
castles built inside trees and mountains.

“Tells us of how we
received the stone sword,” said the children.

“Let Glenn tell it,”
Sinde suggested, “He could make the story come to life with his lyre.”

Irene felt a nudge as
Robin, who sat beside her leaned over to whisper into her ear. “You are very privileged;
Glenn is one of the best storytellers amongst us.”

“Eh, what’s that?”
asked Glenn gruffly, as he lifted an eyebrow suspiciously. “Mr. Robin Burrows!
I should have known, you trouble-maker!” he said mischievously, “And trying to
impress our lovely guest with local gossip, I see. Well, wait’ll I tell April!
She will not be happy with what you are doing!”

Did that guy just call me lovely? Irene wondered.

Robin only laughed in
return.

The men laughed at the
light bickering, Irene felt a smile creeping up her face as she watched the
warm atmosphere. How long has it been since she had moments like these? Glenn’s
grim face lit up as he left his seat to get his lyre. Once he took it into his
hands, he began to tune it as he approached his seat. Once he sat down he began
to play.

“I will tell you a
story I have made up. This story is called, ‘The Dragon Slayer’.” Glenn began
to sing in a deep yet, gentle voice.

In the beginning was a king

Who made things come to being

A world of love and righteousness

Where all creatures lived in peace.

Then appeared Dragon of Death

Who devoured and killed with its
destructive breath

The king saw his people die

And wept for the injured and the
dead.

Then, the king removed his crown

As well and his rich cloak and gown

All his kingly glories were laid
down.

Then in his nakedness he stood

Before the dragon.

The dragon looked at the king and
open its mouth

Swallowed the king whole!

But wait! In the dragon’s black belly
there glowed a light

A mysterious shimmer like a star at
night.

The dragon hacked, coughed, and
gagged

Finally it twisted and turned in
pain

Then in the worm’s belly appeared a
hole!

Out came the king all safe and sound

Leading the people out clean and
whole!

The dragon died from the painful
slice

(I would be too -- an experience
that’s not very nice).

From then on the tale is told

Dear children, keep this in your
heart where it will always hold,

And you shall live long until very
old!

“I don’t want to grow
old, yet!” piped up Caleah.

Glenn’s lyre string
made a funny sound at the remark. He burst out laughing, “Not all of us do,
Child. Not all of us do.”

“And now, Irene, tell
us about yourself,” Mito asked with interest.

“Yes, tell us! Tell
us!” the twins piped.

Irene looked at them.
“I – I don’t know where to start.”

“Where you are from,”
said Robin.

Irene looked at
everyone around the table. Pine and Caleah wiggled in their chair in
excitement.

“I came…” her words
died off as someone pounded on the door.

“Quick, children!”
Treenah took each child’s hand.

The men moved swiftly
moving the chairs from the table. Treenah opened the trapdoor hidden beneath
the table and lead the children down there.

“You too, milady,”
Robin told Irene.

Irene looked at them in
confusion. “But –”

A pair of strong arms
lifted her and dropped her into the floor. The moment her feet touched the
floor, the trapdoor snapped shut above her.

The last sliver of
light disappeared as a rug was thrown over the door. More sounds of moving
chairs. There were footsteps, then voices. The door opening and Mito’s voice
demanding who it was.

In the dark celler,
Irene listened to what was going on above them. The children whimpered, but
their mother hushed them.

“Where…? How…?” one of
the men asked, their actual words hard to hear.

The sound of movement
above them, the trapdoor opens making Irene and her new friends blink at the
sudden light.

“Mito?” Treenah’s voice
was full of concern.

“That was Shyaina. She
said that they were coming. They’re two day’s journey away.” Mito explained,
suddenly looking tired.

“Then we must go,”
Glenn said as he began to pack his lyre.

“What’s going on?”
Irene asked, “Why must we go?”

“The raiders are coming
for their hunt. The monster is hungry again.” Glenn explained, he brought out a
short sword in its sheath and strapped it to his belt.

“You do have a weapon,
don’t you?” Sinde asked.

Irene shook her head.
“I don’t have a weapon. All I know is that I used this.” She brought out her
jeweled pendant.

Robin stared. “Where
did you get that?”

“My relative gave it to
me.” Irene explained, “She said it belonged to my ancestor.”

Glenn studied her for a
moment. “Here,” he tossed her another something wrapped in a cloth.

Irene caught the item and
removed the wrapping, inside was what looked like a stone rod about a foot long
with a handle. Into the stone script engraved close together were that Irene
could not identify due to its small size, each letter neatly lined and wound up
the rod creating an elaborate pattern.

“What’s this?” she
asked.

“Something to go with
that stone,” the dwarf explained.

“What?”

“Take it with you. You
will need it to protect yourself.”

Irene strapped the stone
rod on her back.

After they quickly
packed their possessions, they loaded onto four horses that were kept in the
stable.

Irene looked and
noticed the cloved shoes the horses were wearing. “Why are their shoes like
that?” she asked Rayn, who stood beside her.

“It’s to throw our
pursuers off-track.” he told her lowering his voice.

Treenah sat on one of
the horses with Caleah. Pine went on the horse with Irene.

“Us men could manage
long distances.” Robin told them with a grin.

In the cover of night,
the group made their escape with Sinde at the lead through and Glenn at the
rear.

* * * * * * * * * *

Get link

Facebook

Twitter

Pinterest

Google+

Email

Popular posts from this blog

Jerna panted as she dragged her injured
leg across the desert sand. A few more
paces, she told herself, a few more
paces and there will be shelter. From under her hood she peered at the
cracked cistern located about five meters away. The desert sky stretched above
her grey with promises of a sandstorm. Using her staff to pull her closer to
her destination, Jerna tried to ignore her throbbing foot. Wind began to pick
up sand as she concentrated on the cistern. Finally reaching the cistern, she peered
inside to see if any desert creatures had fallen in. Seeing none, she produced
a rope from her pack and securely tied one end around a metal support that
protruded from the cistern wall. With great caution, she lowered herself into
the cistern and waited for the storm to pass. In the dim light, Jerna examined the wound
on her ankle. The skin was torn and broken from one of the briers. Although the
wound was not contaminated, she wondered why there was so much pain. Opening
her water skin, sh…

In the middle of the night, Jerna felt her
throat parched. Somewhere between wakefulness and sleep, she tried to swallow.
She got up, seeing only darkness, she felt around for her pack in search of her
water skin. A hand grabbed her wrist. She froze. “What are you looking for?” asked a gentle
voice. Jerna realized that her rescuer was still there. “My water,” her voice raspy with thirst. He fell silent for a moment. “You lost
your water in the lake.” “What time is it?” She wondered how long
she had slept as unease crept within her. “It’s morning, can you not see the sun?” Jerna did not know if she had heard him
right. “What did you just say?” “I said, it’s morning.” She waved her hand in front of her face,
then, looked about her. Nothing. She could not see. She covered her mouth as
she felt a lump form in her throat. Why?
How did this happen? What about the cure? “Jerna, do you want some water?” he asked
quietly. Suddenly, she felt him envelope her with
his body. Something pounded in the ground…

Jerna had a dream. She was very small and
her grandmother was still alive. They were sitting near the fire. “When
the chief god left his people, they thought that he had left them to die.
Because of this, they felt that there was no purpose to live. They also believe
that the chief god sent the disease as punishment. So, in hope to appease him
sacrifices were made by letting animals run into the desert. However, there was
another story that was not known to many people.” Just when her grandmother was about to
give the second story, Jerna woke up. She closed her hand over the coin around
her neck. It felt heavier than it usually was. She sat up and looked at her
surroundings. She remembered that she was in a cave she had found just outside
the desert the night before. She opened her pack for some breakfast. She ate
chewing each small bite carefully so she could taste every last morsel. She
took a sip of water from her water skin. For a moment, she stared at the ground
before her. Without …